Full house: Attendees at the MBA Tour event in the Four Points Sheraton Lagos listen as a panel of admissions officers from North American schools offer advice on applying and getting in. Marc Ethier photo
When Leigh Gauthier came to Lagos, Nigeria in 2017 as part of a touring group of mostly North American business schools advertising their MBA programs to prospective students around Africa, the program she represents had exactly zero Nigerians. But a year later, back in Lagos for the latest iteration of The MBA Tour and speaking before a rapt audience in a packed room, Gauthier could boast that the full-time MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management welcomed 12 Nigerians in its latest cohort.
From zero to 12: It must have been something she said, right?
“In addition to the numbers, I think the bottom line is, there’s talent here,” says Gauthier, assistant director of recruitment and admissions for the Rotman full-time MBA. “Nigeria has some incredible talent. It really is an emerging market. There is talent here that could bring some interesting ideas and great experience to the Canadian market. Canadian companies want talent. It’s just such a win-win-win for us to be here.”
A WORLD TRAVELER SEES GREAT PROMISE IN NIGERIA
Leigh Gauthier and Stephen Uwazota speak to a room full of Nigerian business school prospects earlier this month. Marc Ethier photo
It’s a win for other schools, too: About 20 total, mostly based in the U.S., took part in this year’s MBA Tour, often combining their participation with talent-hunting travel to other regions. Among them were Columbia University, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, HEC Paris, Northwestern University, and MIT. In one-on-one interviews and less-formal group discussions, they played host to an estimated 500 participants representing area and global corporations as well as top schools, such as Lagos Business School, in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
Gauthier’s annual trip to Africa is part of approximately 50 days a year she spends on the road. One of six Rotman recruiters, her “corner of the globe” includes the Middle East, where she will visit four to five cities in one annual visits, and Southeast Asia, where she will visit five more cities in two to three yearly trips.
On last year’s Africa trip, Gauthier went to four cities, joining the MBA Tour in Accra, Ghana, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya in addition to Lagos. This year was different. This year, she says, was all about Nigeria.
“This year, Rotman strategically decided that we wanted to invest more time and energy in Nigeria, partially because of the success we had last year,” Gauthier tells Poets&Quants. “So, we doubled down this year on Nigeria, brought in alumni from Nigeria. I will literally meet with hundreds of candidates over the two days I am here.”
A NIGERIA-TO-CANADA SUCCESS STORY
Gauthier says Rotman and its corporate partners have identified Nigeria — specifically Lagos, the sprawling megalopolis of anywhere between 17 and 21 million that is both the largest and fastest-growing city in Africa — as a place in the world where top talent can be found. As an example, she gestures to the man sitting next to her.
Stephen Uwazota joined Gauthier in Lagos not as an official participant in the MBA event or as a paid Rotman representative. Rather, he came on his own dime to sell the school to his countrymen and women. A 2016 Rotman grad, Uwazota works in energy services for a large bank in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a city he calls “one of the foremost livable cities in the world” and where he has settled to start a family.
“What you’re beginning to see is this thing of Canada being able to harvest the talent within Canada of people who have roots around the world,” Uwazota says. “You’re beginning to see an opportunity for people who move to Canada from Nigeria, who live in Canada for a while. And now you have Canadian companies saying, ‘Who can we send to run our operations back in Africa?’ You are kind of seeing that come full circle now — that global competitiveness is becoming really topical in Canada these days.”
Alexia Jablonski, left, speaks to Nigerian MBA prospects at an event in Lagos, Nigeria this month as Roman’s Leigh Gauthier looks on. Jablonski, a representative of the Deputy High Commission of Canada, told attendees how they could secure permission to study and work in Canada. Marc Ethier photo
FINDING WAYS TO PAY, AND TO STAY
Uwazota’s journey would not have been possible if not for Canada’s policy of allowing newly minted MBAs to work visa-free for three years. Contrast that with the current well-publicized woes of those seeking a H1-B visa to work in the United States. For Uwazota, not having to worry about staying in the country after graduating from Rotman was worth everything — and particularly important because at Rotman, scholarships, while available, are merit- and not need-based. (Gauthier points out that one of the Nigerian students in this year’s cohort received scholarship money totaling about CDN $50,000, which covers not quite half of the total cost of a Rotman MBA.)
“In my time I was lucky there was this loan available from one of the commercial banks in Canada that you didn’t need a co-signer for,” Uwazota says. “That was available, that helped. Speaking selfishly now, as an African, as a Nigerian, would I want to see maybe a dedicated pot of gold for Africa? Absolutely, because that just helps the school compete better.
“One of the things I had going for me when I was looking at schools was, I had a couple of mentors who were graduates of some of the top business schools in the U.S. One of the things they told me was, ‘Don’t go to the U.S.,’ because you didn’t have as clear-cut a path to work post-MBA. The significant value of doing your MBA in North America is that certainty of work post-graduation.”
Uwazota plans to stay in Canada, but that is not always the case for Nigerian MBA grads. Just as Chinese and Indian students often return to their home countries, Nigerians, Uwazota says, have a spirit of entrepreneurship that leads many to return home to help build up their country, a still-developing nation that only has had stable governance since 1999. “You’ll see the full spectrum,” he says, “those who wanna come back and those who are never gonna come back to Nigeria or Africa or wherever. Many are like, ‘Now I have the training and the MBA, I have the exposure to the North American workplace, I can take on an executive role, leading change for business out of Africa.’”
Prospects gather to talk to North American and European business schools at an event in Lagos, Nigeria this month. Marc Ethier photo
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the Graduate Management Admission Test worldwide, GMATs taken by Nigerians number more than any other country in Africa. It’s a number that has fluctuated in recent years, having reached a high of 1,459 exams taken in 2016; but in 2017 nearly 1,300 Nigerians took the GMAT, ranking just below the number of test takers in Spain and Israel. (GMAC does not keep records for unique examinees.)
“The appeal of Nigerian students to business schools is not new,” says Ronald Sibert, GMAC’s market development director for Africa. “Business schools value diversity in the classroom and Nigerians are the largest and most mobile segment of the African population, making them more likely to pursue business school opportunities abroad.”
As for 2018, “Nigeria saw significant growth in GMAT registrations earlier this year,” Sibert continues, “but 2018 is likely to close with the volume being relatively flat, as demand for higher education runs counter-cyclical to economic trends. The Nigerian economy is notoriously volatile — with the country having emerged from an extended recession earlier this year accompanied by intractable budgetary challenges in tertiary education.”
The data is exams taken, not unique examinees. Also, in speaking with someone internally who has great insight into Africa, and Nigeria specifically, I can confirm that Nigerian test takers send out the most GMAT scores relative to other countries in Africa. Quick point of clarification. Test volumes do not necessarily translate directly into score sending rates. I wanted to verify that point.
NIGERIA: COUNTRY OF ENTREPRENEURS
Northeastern’s Evelyn Tate. Courtesy photo
The feeling on the streets of Lagos can mirror the volatility of the economy. But inside the walls of the Four Points Sheraton, where representatives from nearly 20 schools gathered earlier this month, there was no hint of anything but the optimism that comes with the exploration of new horizons. Many — perhaps most — of the attendees had some entrepreneurial background, making the event, for two days at least, perhaps the premier gathering of innovative business minds in Africa.
Among the most popular portions of the event were an MBA Fair with schools setting up booths to chat with prospects, and a panel discussion, “Preparing Your Application, Advice from Admissions Directors,” with panelists from Northeastern University D-Amore McKim School of Business, MIT Sloan School of Management, Duke Fuqua School of Business, and Columbia Business School. Rotman’s Leigh Gauthier moderated.
Evelyn Tate, assistant dean and director for graduate recruitment and admissions at D’Amore-McKim, sat on the panel and spoke to the rise of the Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, as a substitute for the GMAT. Afterward, she acknowledged that Nigeria is appealing to Northeastern because of Nigerians’ strong entrepreneurial drive.
“Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business has a robust entrepreneurial community, including top scholars in the field and unique opportunities for students to learn about entrepreneurship and start or grow their businesses while in school,” Tate tells Poets&Quants. “Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa with a growing number of entrepreneurs, and we are hearing from more young Nigerian professionals that they are interested in earning their MBAs in entrepreneurship and returning home to start businesses in order to help their country’s economy develop. We feel that our full-time MBA program is the perfect fit for these students.”
Northeastern currently does not have any Nigerian students in its full-time MBA program, Tate says, though it has in the past. “Feedback from several Nigerian candidates indicates that the rate of the Nigerian naira against the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar has made it difficult for them to pursue their graduate education,” she acknowledges. “However, we offer merit scholarships to assist with paying tuition, and we remain committed to helping students from Nigeria realize their dream of earning an MBA.”
‘A NIGERIAN STUDENT WITH AN MBA IS WILDFIRE’
Oluremi Onitilo, 31, is Nestlé’s regional digital lead for Central and West Africa. He majored in computer science at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, but now he wants to take a general management track at an elite school. He’s got his eyes on Fuqua, Dartmouth Tuck, and Virginia Darden, as well as Toronto Rotman, where “the school takes on the character of the country, which makes it very human.”
Onitilo wants to pivot away from his current work in consumer packaged goods, where he has worked for six years, and into tech. He plans to join an MBA program in August 2019 and live and work in Europe for some time after graduating, then come back to Africa and work there full-time. “In between then, I will set-up programs that are dedicated to accelerating talent (mostly in technology) and facilitating leadership teaching for young people,” he tells P&Q.
“I think U.S. and European schools are interested in Nigerian students because of three things: diversity of thought, ‘can-do’ spirit, and front-row stories of living in an emerging market like Nigeria,” Onitilo says. “What you find with Nigeria students is the multiplying effect they bring to the opportunities they get — a Nigerian student with an MBA is wildfire.
“The average Nigerian student has differentiated and pushed him/herself in spite of certain limiting factors. These factors include the declining educational system, high unemployment, and curriculum irrelevance which invariably bring forth some sort of endurance. This endurance comes with its own set of humor which, I dare say, is distinctly Nigerian.”
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, president of the Republic of Ghana, spoke to an audience at the Yale School of Management on September 27. Yale SOM photo
In September, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave a talk at Yale School of Management in which he extolled a new age on the African continent that will harness economic development to create a new, more prosperous future for Africans. “Democracy and freedom,” Akufo-Addo said, “are providing the political, social, and economic platforms for Africa’s long-awaited development. Africa is on the cusp of building a great new civilization, one which will unleash the great energy and potential of the African people.”
For Molabowale Williams, a member of the Yale Class of 2020 and a native of Lagos, Nigeria, those words ring true — and they are especially true of his home country. Nigeria, after all, is Africa’s economic engine in terms of nominal GDP, the world’s seventh-largest country with a population of nearly 200 million that is on track to be No. 5 by 2050. No wonder, Williams says, students from there are clamoring for an elite business education — and schools are eager to welcome them.
“On one hand, I think schools are responding to increased demand from Nigerians for a world-class education which is being matched by strong academic/quantitative performances and competitive and compelling MBA applications,” says Williams, 26, a former Citibank analyst who earned an economics degree from American University of Nigeria in 2012. “On the other hand, I think these business schools are also very interested in training leaders that have the potential to help Nigeria/Africa develop and grow. Basically these institutions are hopeful that they can shape the future of Africa with education.”
FLEXIBLE ABOUT LOCATION, BUT PLANNING TO RETURN TO AFRICA
Molabowale Williams. Courtesy photo
Williams worked in strategy and analytics in corporate and investment banking and hopes to continue in those functions post-MBA. However, he’d like to move into a different industry, including, possibly, international development. Eventually, he says, he’ll return to Africa to utilize his talents.
“I think Nigerians offer a multi-dimensional and deep view of complex problem-solving. This is probably because we come from an environment where you have to develop multiple contingency plans to survive, and navigating the business environment is not as straightforward as it is might be in the U.S. and Europe,” Williams tells Poets&Quants. “I think our unique perspective on problems adds something different to the MBA classroom.”
Though African representation in business schools has not traditionally been high, Williams says he has met many Nigerian students at Yale SOM. That’s not why he chose to go there, though. “I chose Yale SOM because the program is guided by its mission to educate leaders for business and society,” he says. “In many ways I identified with this mission because I want to be able to make a positive impact on people and the society with my career. I considered other programs in North America that I felt had similar values and would provide the resources and platform to further develop myself.
“My plan is to work abroad for some time before returning to the African continent. However, there are also interesting and challenging opportunities in Africa that I am exploring. An MBA is supposed to stretch you and give you a different way of thinking, so I came in with a flexible mindset about location. Instead I’m trying to focus on the kind of work and impact I want to make after graduation. I don’t envision that getting a work visa will be straightforward, for various reasons, so my strategy is to focus on the value I can bring to the organization and be adaptable about location, because sometimes work visas are outside a company’s control.”
A CALL FOR SMALLER SCHOOLS TO CONSIDER NIGERIA
Joseph Bassey. Courtesy photo
Back in Lagos, Joseph Bassey wants what Molabowale Williams has. The 32-year-old procurement supervisor at Olam Grains, an international agribusiness company, came to the MBA Tour event hoping for guidance in his quest to attend a top North American or European school. He wasn’t disappointed.
“The experience was fantastic,” he tells P&Q. “Rarely do we experience such opportunity without an exuberant price tag attached to it. It was a great experience and an opportunity to meet face to face and interact with top academic officials, representing some of the best universities in the world. I truly believe that this experience will not leave the hearts and minds of the Nigerian youths that were present. From the questions being asked by the aspiring students to the one-on-one interactions, you could see the hunger and passion to learn and desire to gain knowledge on the untapped educational opportunity relating to business and entrepreneurship.
“The representatives did an outstanding job on answering all the questions to the best of their ability, giving great tips on how to apply to their MBA programs, take the GMAT, write your essay, and preparing your application in general.”
If he had one suggestion for the future, it would be for more middle-tier schools to get involved. Nigeria is not a rich country, despite its geopolitical economic prowess, and smaller schools could find much interest there.
“I hope for more opportunities like this to grace Nigeria, but not only the top MBA schools which come with high tuition fees,” Bassey says. “Let’s not forget that a majority of our citizens are going through severe financial strain and this will always be a factor for Third World countries. Going forward I would like to see some middle-class international schools coming to organize tours, workshops, on-the-spot admissions, and the like.”
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